It’s hard to remember but Valve does actually make and sell physical Steam Gift Cards that are designed to be…well, a monetary gift of sorts for gamers to use on the digital platform. Unfortunately, those physical cards are now going the way of the Dodo.
Valve confirmed on its Steam Support Page, specifically for Steam Wallet, that the physical Steam Gift cards will be discontinued, and whatever stock is left at retailers will be it: what you see is what you get. Valve has made it clear that the cards do not, and will not, have an expiration date, which effectively makes them worth their weight in gold, especially to thieving opportunists.
Valve first introduced the physical Steam Gift Cards back in 2012. However, over the following years, the cards became the target of online scammers: these unscrupulous people con and coerce victims into sending the offenders money via gift cards from the likes of Google, Apple, and of course, Steam Gift Cards. Many of these victims tend to be focused within the US, where scam call centres, mostly located in India, trick them into thinking that they need to pay off taxes, debts, or even refund massive amounts of money that they’ve never incurred, to begin with.
Valve did introduce digital cards back in 2017, although it is working on improving the experience for its user base. Circling back to the scammers, the company did try to fight them over the years. It went so far as to work with retailers and US law enforcement, limiting the redemption of a Steam wallet in currency, limiting availability, or just outright removing the transactions. Sadly, as people do, the scammers were able to adapt to these changes, which is what led to the decision to discontinue the physical card.
Meanwhile, if you’ve managed to score yourself some Steam Gift Cards in Malaysia, consider yourself lucky.
